While the fairly ridiculous Justin Schultz auction stole the phrase Saturday, today should reveal a much more intriguing version of "The Decision" in the NHL.

It should actually be a free agent season twin-bill, with Zach Parise expected to announce his next hockey destination and Ryan Suter also anticipating to do so. They are 1-2 (and in no particular order) on the list of available unrestricted free agents, and Sunday their names produced a pair of bidding wars hotter than the league has seen in some time.

True to his status as general manager of one of the league's money teams, Paul Holmgren was right in the middle of the action. Though he never made himself available for interviews Sunday (or Sunday night), Holmgren was believed to have submitted offers for both Parise, the captain central to the New Jersey Devils' attack, and Suter, the defenseman that helped make the Nashville system go.

If you believe reports as to how the bidding went, Holmgren would have had to pledge offers in the range of 12 years at between $80 to $90 million to stay in the bidding process for both players.

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Holmgren wasn't alone. A host of teams jumped in, though as night began to fall so, too, did the hopeful bidders drop. Both players were said to have whittled their choices down to final lists, with a final "Decision" coming today.

For the Flyers, both players would fill significant needs.

Parise is the kind of player that is a glue on offense, and since he played on the wing most of his career until the past couple of seasons, he could easily replace Jaromir Jagr by Claude Giroux's side on the Flyers' top line.

Suter would take on an even more important role. The Flyers need someone to succeed Kimmo Timonen as the No. 1 defenseman and power-play quarterback. No one in the league would be better suited for that than Suter.

Bad news for the Flyers -- Suter is thought by some to have narrowed his choices to three teams, and the Flyers aren't one of them. The current front-runner would be the Detroit Red Wings. As for Parise, the Flyers are expected to be right in the thick of that up until "Decision" time today, but the Pittsburgh Penguins, with Sid Crosby signed on as sales director, have the inside track.

While that may be reason enough for Holmgren to do everything he can to draw Parise away, it is to the Flyers' advantage that the Devils apparently are being outpriced in the process. They are also in danger of losing longtime franchise rock Marty Brodeur to free agency, so New Jersey's hockey team could look very different when (or if) next season commences with, presumably, a new collective bargaining agreement.

Meanwhile, the Flyers made no progress with their respective UFA candidates, Matt Carle and Jaromir Jagr.

Holmgren threw an early offer Carle's way, but with Suter driving prices up, it's smart that Carle waited. Helping his case was that Florida alum Jason Garrison, someone very comparable to Carle, decided to take fewer dollars than several teams were offering and accepted a six-year, $27.6 million contract to play with his hometown team, the Vancouver Canucks. So when Suter makes a choice, Carle can reap benefits from the losers.

The Flyers would likely be the No. 1 loser in line.

As for Jagr, Holmgren has made it clear he's not in a hurry to sign him. But it's also been intimated that Jagr probably will take his time to decide where he wants to play -- just as he did this time last year before he chose Philadelphia. The Flyers are still interested, but only if they don't get either Parise or swing another top forward through a trade.

Since Rick Nash is said to not have included the Flyers on a favorites list he supposedly gave his agent Sunday, the trade option for the Flyers might be down to Anaheim's Bobby Ryan. And yes, the Flyers are still very hot on the Cherry Hill native's trail.

The Ducks are demanding Sean Couturier in a trade proposal for Ryan, but then, hey ... isn't everyone?